INTRODUCTIONThe subject of youth crime has been one of much public debate over the last few years. Statistics demonstrate that many youths who resort to crime face serious social and economical marginalisation. Furthermore, our juvenile clients commonly report experiences of neglect and physical, emotional or sexual abuse. Justice Action believes that major changes have to be made to the current youth justice system in order to combat these ongoing concerns.

Continued funding should not be given to juvenile detention centres; rather, the underlying systemic inequalities that youth offenders face must be immediately addressed. Tax dollars should instead be redirected towards furthering youth education and rehabilitation programs for young offenders; housing initiatives; and creating community centres and after-school initiatives, amongst various other things. This is the only way to either combat youth crime before it starts or break the vicious cycle of crime in which young offenders are trapped.

COMPUTERS IN JUVENILE CELLSComputers in cells is a key initiative of Justice Action. The aim of the juvenile detention is supposed to be the rehabilitation of the juvenile offenders. A key part of this rehabilitation is education, which can be facilitated by the provision of computers into the cells of prisoners. Read morehere.